La Loba

La Loba on the mountainside
In a cave she’ll hide all the bones
Piecing them together
In any weather and all alone

And her growls and groans
Her coughs and moans
Will tell you that she’s there
As she sings the souls
Into bones of wolves
She’ll call you into her lair

La Loba on the mountainside
In a cave she’ll hide all the bones
Piecing them together
In any weather and all alone

And you dance and sway
In the animal way
You think you’ve lost all fear
And you’ll stalk your prey
Til you find where it lay
A trembling scared little deer

La Loba on the mountainside
In a cave she’ll hide all the bones
Piecing them together
In any weather and all alone

And you’ll free the deer
From a blinding fear
From wasps and nettles you came
Rising up from the flames
With a howling rage
The wolf reclaims her name

Growls and groans, coughs and moans
Growls and groans, coughs and moans
Growls and groans
And coughs and growls and groans
And moans

La Loba, also known as “the Wolf Woman,” is a figure from Mexican folklore who is said to live in the deserts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. According to legend, La Loba is a powerful witch who has the ability to transform herself into a wolf.

The story tells how La Loba goes through the desert singing and howling, looking for the bones of the dead. When she finds them, she carries them to her cave and sings over them, bringing the bones to life. In that way, the dead may rise again, as a Wolf, with the soul of a human.

La Loba is seen by many as a powerful—and somewhat terrifying—guardian of the dead, and a protector of the living.